Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association wants to adopt NCAA Rules

The trash has already come to take away whatever paper it was in, but I saw the other day that the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association (formerly the Delaware Secondary School Athletic Association) wants to implement a rule that, with certain exceptions, if you transfer to another school for sports, you've got to sit out for a year before you are eligible to play again in that sport. This rule is generally the rule for college athletes and exists for the same educationally-centered reasons. Generally, I'm fine with it; however, I will offer a tongue-in-cheek response for the sake of playing devil's advocate.

Let's say I was a good enough baseball player to go on to play for a college team like Texas or Florida, but probably not good enough to go straight to the majors. I think there have been a handful from Delaware in the past few years who fall into this category and even fewer who actually make it to the majors (and by majors, I mean the MLB).

So, if I want to get recruited for D1, I need some major exposure. Otherwise, I'm just a big fish in a small pond and my season will end when my 2-12 Blue Hen or Henlopen conference schedule finishes. Unacceptable. If I go to a conference champion school, I can be a big fish plus have a longer season. While this type of exposure isn't necessary for sports like football that already get plenty of Delaware fan coverage, the length of my season is contingent on my team being good. So what gives DIAA?

Obviously all of the schools in the state are held to the same basic educational standards. So what does it matter if I go to Delmar or Brandywine? Aren't you essentially punishing me for basically random selection of property location and school districting?

My point to this isn't really to question the DIAA authority to create this rule, and it's precisely the reason there is a procedural requirement for comment by the general public. My point is that the DIAA may be inadvertently hurting some athletes who may not fall into the general category of switching ponds just to be a bigger fish. All of this presumes of course, that these transfer athletes mesh with the new team and coach. Talent, after all, only takes you so far.

No real point here other than to push the envelope a little. If some parent really wanted to try and live vicariously through their sons or daughters, they would hold them back in middle school so that they are one year older than anyone else in high school and "adjust" their eligibility that way (assuming that rule hasn't changed). I would suspect that happens just as much as athletes transferring to other high schools, although probably at a far lower spot under the radar.

Tags: delaware athletes transferring to other high schools, high school athletics, delaware high school atheletes